Michigan Tech defender Ella Roach tries to work her way through multiple Roosevelt midfielders during a game Sunday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

KENOSHA, Wis. — After scoring six goals in a win over GLIAC-newcomer Roosevelt on Sunday, Sept. 29, the Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team came into last weekend not having scored another goal in four straight games. They returned home in the hopes of breaking through. Even if they did not win, simply scoring a goal would have felt like an accomplishment.

Not only did the Huskies score, they scored three times over two games, and earned a pair of much-needed wins in the process.

“It was a good weekend,” said Huskies coach Melissa Kuhar. “I can’t complain about two wins and scoring some goals, right? Heading into the Friday game, Purdue (Northwest) had only lost to one team. They had one loss on the season. So, it was kind of…that was a tough game, but I also feel like we dominated a good chunk of it until 20 towards the end when they got all their shots, pretty much.

“I think, overall, (it was) just good. I think a big confidence-boost weekend for our girls. With the two wins, it’s really made things interesting in our conference standings. So, now it’s like the ball’s in our court.”

With the 1-0 win over Purdue Northwest and the 2-0 win over Roosevelt, the Huskies improved to 6-8 overall and 4-7 in GLIAC play. They clinched a GLIAC Tournament berth in the process, but where they will be in the standings is not set in stone. They could still host a tournament quarterfinal match if things fall just right for them. However, the closing stretch will not be easy. The Huskies travel to face Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday. After that, the Huskies hit the road for their final weekend to face Saginaw Valley State and Grand Valley State. The Rangers sit below the Huskies in the standings, but both the Cardinals and Lakers sit ahead of them. The Lakers are out of reach in the standings, but the Cardinals have a conference record of 3-3-4, which is good for 13 points, one better than the Huskies.

“We have to figure out winning the next three games, or getting results in the next three games, and it can really kind of stir some things up in the conference,” Kuhar said.

Heading into the match with Purdue Northwest on Friday, the Pride had a 3-1-4 record in GLIAC play, but the Huskies, according to Kuhar, had had enough of their recent struggles.

“Heading into this time last week, we definitely were kind of all tired of losing, so we definitely kind of revamped just what we were working on at practice, and how we were working on it,” she said. “We really focused on our attack and just making things dynamic.

“I’ve told the girls in October, most teams aren’t working to get better. You’re kind of where you are, and you just have to figure it out. But, I honestly feel like we did get better last week, and just kind of maybe some of the things we were doing.”

Kuhar was especially proud of the first goal against Roosevelt on Sunday.

“You look at the goal, the first goal on Sunday, (it) was a textbook, exactly what we were doing in our practices,” she said. “The girls were fed up with losing, and so that was that little motivation heading into the weekend of there’s no other option but to win. So, I think that added that extra motivation to pull off the two victories, for sure.”

In the win on Friday, not only was the lone goal the Huskies scored a relief in terms of getting back on track offensively, but it was also the first career goal for senior forward Jordan Noble.

“I didn’t know it was her first goal, so that was kind of cool to find out after,” said Kuhar. “But, I think if you look at my reaction on the sidelines, I just put my hands in the air and I looked up and I was like, ‘Thank the Lord.’ You could just see the relief of the girls on the field, and then just even the bench. I went and high-fived all of them. I was more pumped than all of them.

It was never for a lack of them trying, or never for a lack of them wanting a goal.”

Kuhar felt there might have been a higher power at play.

“It was just the soccer gods,” she said. “They did not want us to score, apparently. It was just kind of that sigh of relief for all of us, like, ‘Man, we can score. We’re capable of it.’ We had other chances in that game as well that we probably should have put away.

“Honestly, Sunday should have been a lot more. We just couldn’t find the back of the net on some of them. But, it’s nice to kind of get those goals, and it eases just everything, and makes it a little easier to just sit there and relax a bit more.”

SCOUTING THE RANGERS

The Rangers are not the same team that beat the Huskies in the GLIAC Tournament a year ago. They are 3-7-4 overall and 1-5-4 in conference play after losing last weekend to Saginaw Valley State, 3-1.

Junior midfielder Emily Mikkelson leads the team in scoring with two goals and six points. Freshman forward Ava Rizzitano is the only other player with multiple goals (2). Fifth-year midfielder Nadiia Ivanchenko has also been dangerous. She has one goal and four points.

In goal, freshman keeper Lola Minic has seen all the action, going 3-7-4 in 14 starts with a 1.00 goals against average and .829 save percentage.

GAME TIME

The Huskies and Rangers are set to face off Sunday at 12 p.m. in Kenosha, Wisconsin.